Summary

This tobacco pipe bowl was excavated at the Commonwealth Block site between 1988 and 2003. The celtic harp and shamrocks depicted on the bowl suggest it is of Irish origin.

Cultural diversity in Little Lon.
Little Lon was home to a diverse population. Germans, Jews and Irish arrived in the mid 19th century; Chinese, southern Europeans and Syrians (Lebanese) in the 1880s; and Italians in the 1890s. Immigrants sometimes brought objects with them to remind them of home, or purchased new items that re-affirmed national loyalties. Pipes, vases or plates were decorated with flags, military heroes, an Irish lyre or English roses. The amount of foreign currency excavated also attests to diversity of the immigrants who frequented Little Lon.

A pipeful of tobacco was long-lasting and its aroma disguised the stench of Melbourne's streets. The short clay pipe favoured by working men was called a 'cutty'. Being made of brittle clay, these pipes broke easily, explaining the abundance of fragments uncovered at Little Lon. Of the pipes excavated, many were decorated with slogans, patriotic symbols, even jokes and caricatures, hinting at the identities of those who smoked them.

Physical Description

This is a pipe bowl with a short stem remaining. Above the stem it is decorated with a harp and shamrocks.

Physical Description

Makers mark on back of bowl, otherwise undecorated.

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